Mum's the word for Hibs boss ahead of Rangers Scottish Cup visit

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery has joked that home supporters can turn Sunday’s visit of Rangers into the mother of all cup ties – by bringing their mums along to cheer his team onto victory. And the Easter Road gaffer seriously believes all the pressure is on the visitors in a Scottish Cup quarterfinal that most bookies consider to be a foregone conclusion.

Rangers are odds-on to claim a place in the semi-finals at the expense of their hosts, who have already lost twice to the Light Blues – conceding seven goals and scoring none in reply – this season. But Hibs have steadied the ship after a mid-season wobble, with the arrival of half a dozen new recruits in January now beginning to have a positive effect.

And Monty is counting on home advantage to play its part, laughing as he declared: “We’re hoping for a good crowd. We know it’s Mother’s Day – so we’re hoping we can get plenty of fans to bring their mums along to the game, create a good atmosphere!”

Drawing on his previous experience in knock-out competitions, the former Central Coast Mariners boss said: “Winning the Grand Final with a team in Australia was a massive achievement, the biggest game in our calendar. As a player with Sheffield United, I got to quite a few semi-finals, losing narrow games to Arsenal and Liverpool, so I’ve been the underdog often enough.

“As a coach, we also made the final of the FA Cup in Australia in my first season as manager. So I’ve got experiences in this sort of competition.

“There is pressure on the Old Firm week in, week out. Philippe Clement has done a great job in managing expectations, because he’s had some real strong results – but Motherwell proved last week that, even with less than 10 per cent of the Rangers budget, you can win a game of football.

“We know the challenge ahead but we’re confident we can give a good account of ourselves. And any manager will believe they’ve got a chance in a one-off game.”